Trying to Hold Onto the Past
by dumbledoresbumblebee
Summary: Chihiro has been waiting for Haku to come and find her, and a few years have passed. Finally, he's made his appearance, but he has no recollection of her, or anything about what happened in that mysterious bath house. Chihiro's POV, ChihiroxHaku
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Miyazaki's beautiful Spirited Away stuff, I just own the plot of MY story.

By the way, this story is a collaboration between another author, lose-your-voice, and myself. My story is in Chihiro's POV, and lose-your-voice is writing it in Haku's POV. If you want to read Haku's POV, you'll have to go on over to lose-your-voice. It'll be on later today, btw.

* * *

Chapter 1: Haku Returns 

"Is that the _same _hairstyle as yesterday?!?"

Chihiro quietly walked to her seat and took off her book bag. The same whispers and stares everyday. She couldn't wait until this period was over, when she was free to go home. With the least amount of movement as possible, she sunk into her chair.

"Yeah! The same ponytail and haircut for… How long? Since she moved in during middle school, right?"

"Hey, I heard that she-," one girl eagerly jumped over a chair and entered the circle of gossipers. Chihiro tuned them out. What did it matter anyway if they were talking bad about her? It wasn't like they were her friends at one time. She had no connection to them, or the rest of the class.

The bell rang to indicate the start of class, and slowly Chihiro reached towards her book bag, about to open the zipper. Someone brushed past her, sending her bag crashing to the floor.

Silence engulfed the classroom. Chihiro felt every eye on her and the latecomer.

"Sorry," the boy said with no real regret in his voice. He continued on his way. Vaguely Chihiro remembered a time in elementary school when the same incident had happened. How'd she react back then? She couldn't really remember. Then again, lately she couldn't remember anything about herself before she had been spirited away…

"What's going on here? Pick that up Chihiro, are you waiting for it to sprout wings and fly back onto your desk?"

Chihiro merely whispered an apology as she slipped from her chair to the floor, picking up her scattered school supplies. The teacher left her side to get class ready, and began his routine of asking questions to random people in the class. From her peripheral vision, she could just see everyone moving back to their seats, trying not to catch the teacher's eye. Sighing a little, but not enough to draw attention, she continued collecting her supplies.

Counting the pens, pencils, and other random things she had just retrieved, she reached the number 28. 28? She recounted her pile, and found that _it_ was missing. Frantically, she stood up and whirled around, sending her chair flying. Yet again the whole class was silent.

"Chihiro! What are you doing? Fix your chair right now!" Her teacher dropped his briefcase onto his desk and swiftly grabbed her by the arm. She barely felt his grip. All she knew was that someone had stolen it. _It!_ Without warning, big, fat tears began rolling down her cheeks. She had to find it.

Chihiro dropped to all fours and started barreling down the aisles, kicking people's belongings aside as she went by.

"WHAT is the MEANING of this?!?!" Her teacher looked like he was about to explode. She kept searching.

"Ugh, just like a rat!"

"Freak!"

Vaguely she noticed everyone jumping onto their seats as if she _were_ a rat. But she couldn't dwell on that right now, she had to find-

Out of no where, Chihiro slammed her head into someone's leg. Wasn't everyone standing on their chairs…?

She gazed up into the person's face, and was blinded momentarily. She hadn't realized she had crawled all the way from her 'door' seat to the back 'window' seat, and the sun was shining brightly through the window behind the person sitting there.

"What are you freaking out for? If this piece of trash is that special to you, don't bring it to school," the person said as they threw something at her. Blinking her eyes quickly, Chihiro was able to catch the small gold item that she had been so desperately searching for. Using her fingers to trace the lines of the little figurine, she realized that the teacher had grabbed her by the back of the shirt, and was now being dragged forcefully out of the classroom.

"Until I get back, Haku will take care of attendance as a way to get to know the class. Oh, and Haku, this right here is Chihiro, make sure not to mark her absent," he slammed the door and then grabbed Chihiro by the arm still clutching the figurine. "You are coming with me," he said with venom.

Chihiro didn't hear a word he said. In fact, she had gone deaf after the name 'Haku.'

"Haku," she whispered, and clutched the figurine to her chest.

* * *

With her head hanging, Chihiro exited the office to go back to class. Her teacher had dragged her there an hour ago, and had returned on his own. She shuffled her feet through the hallway and watched the white tiles as she passed. 

Suddenly she stopped. Lifting her head, she glanced around the hallway and began to panic. Where had she ended up?

Running to the closest window she could find, she saw the gym and field below. There was a loud clatter behind her and she whirled around, hands clasped tightly behind her back.

It was Haku.

She couldn't breathe for a second, but quickly cleared her throat to get his attention. He seemed to be walking back from the bathroom, and was leaning over to pick up the pass he had dropped.

"H-Haku?" Chihiro whispered anxiously, yet still cautiously.

He seemed to finally notice her, and turned around, turning the pass in his hands. He just looked at her, eyebrows raised.

She hadn't expected him to say nothing; she was slightly taken aback.

"Um, did you come here to find me, like you promised you would…?" She had been so anxious to ask if it really were true, that she hadn't just dreamed his words.

His eyebrows dropped and he stopped turning the pass. "What?" He asked, a little harshly.

Chihiro froze for a minute. "Don't you remember me…?"

"What are you talking about? I just went to the bathroom. I've never seen you before in my life."

He doesn't remember. She slid to the floor, her face going white, and her mouth opened in horror as she watched him walking away. His black uniform jacket started to blur around the edges and blend in with the white of the walls. Salty tears fell into her mouth as she finally lowered her head when he turned the corner.

He doesn't even know me, she thought.

* * *

"Chihiro, how about we go check out the amusement park this weekend, eh? It'd be good for you, heck, for all of us to get some fun back into our lives. What d'ya think?" Chihiro's father said that night over dinner. Chihiro merely moved her food around on her plate. 

"That sounds wonderful, dear. Oh, but I promised Mrs. Stephanie next door that'd I'd get together with her and her friends for a book club meeting," Chihiro's mother replied.

"When's that? We'll go the next day. Hey, Chihiro, what's the matter? I thought you'd love this idea," her father said, pointing a fork at her.

"Oh, yeah. It sounds great, Dad. Mom, I think I'm finished," Chihiro started cleaning off her place, but her mom's arm stopped her.

"Why don't you leave that on the table? You're father and I will finish it since you've hardly touched it," her mother said, taking the plate from her hands.

Chihiro wrinkled her nose. "You'll turn into pigs if you're not careful," she said crossing her arms. Her parents just laughed.

"What's all this pig talk suddenly? It's just a little bit of food. Wouldn't want to throw it away, hm?" Her mother said, already cutting the meat into two separate parts.

"Whatever," Chihiro stomped out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom. She slammed her door and collapsed onto her bed, trying not to think too much of what Haku had said. Sighing, she hugged her pillow to her chest and thought back to the first time she had met him… She was on the bridge, looking up at-

She shot out of bed so quickly she knocked her lamp off the night stand.

She couldn't remember anything from when she met him. She began pacing the room with clenched fists at her side. Let's see, she thought. I was on the bridge, and then… I ended up in the Boiler Room? But how'd I get there?

Chihiro dropped to the ground and pulled her hair while sitting Indian style. And then I met Sen, or wait, I saw the-

Who was that lady who ran the whole place? She thought frantically. If she couldn't remember anything, then how was she to know it wasn't all just a fabrication her mind had made up in the effort to ease the pain from moving?

For the first time since those few days had happened, she seriously considered the fact that Haku could have just coincidently been the name of the boy in her reverie, and now that she was almost certain of this, she felt embarrassed beyond belief. How could she have actually confronted a complete stranger just because of his name!?!?

Well, she thought as she stood up and straightened her skirt, at least now I can change my hairstyle.


	2. Chapter 2

I just wanted to thank you guys for the reviews you gave me for the last chapter and please, review for this one as well.

P.S. Remember guys, the person who write Haku's POV and Chihiro's POV (Me) is different.

Chapter 2: Chihiro Returns

RING!!

Chihiro's hand shot out from underneath her covers and slapped around her night stand until she finally found the alarm clock.

RIN- BAM!

With that sound, she was finally awake. Sitting upright in her bed, Chihiro stretched until she felt limp in her muscles, and then stumbled out of bed. For some reason, it felt like she had just had some enormous weight lifted off her chest. She felt almost as if she had been born anew.

Nah.

Sticking slippers onto her feet, she made her way to the bathroom. As she was getting ready for school, she was wondering what she had dreamt about that night. Some place steamy she knew, but beyond that nothing made sense. Every so often a train would shoot by and cause the water it was traveling on to ripple, and then talking frogs kept telling her to go grab some gold. And last but not least, paper would begin to cling to her and a magnificent dragon as they flew through the sky.

Looking into the mirror, she laughed. It was a bit funny, really, to be so troubled about a stupid and pointless dream. Without thinking more about it, she started to blow dry her hair.

Chihiro skipped down the hallway humming a random song from when she was little. She had been so intent on skipping and humming, she didn't notice that she was fast approaching a girl with pigtails. At the last second, she skidded to a halt, but still slammed into the girl.

BAM!

"Ow…" The other girl rubbed her head from her spot on the floor, and her eyes began to tear.

"I'm so sorry! Here, I'll help you up," Chihiro offered her hand and waited for the girl to reach up for it. She didn't.

"What's wrong?" Chihiro asked, checking quickly to make sure that her hands weren't dirty or something.

The girl looked away for a second, and then turned back to Chihiro. "It's just, you can _talk?_"

For a second, Chihiro just stared at the girl. Then she burst out laughing. The girl on the floor looked embarrassed and began to push herself off the floor.

"No, let me help," Chihiro said after wiping tears from her eyes because she was laughing so hard. She offered her hand again, and said, "Sorry, it's just that I thought that was kind of funny. Here, I promise I'm not contaminated."

This time, the girl reached up and grabbed a hold of Chihiro's hand. After brushing off some dirt from her skirt, the girl again looked at Chihiro.

"Your hair's different today," she said stupidly after a long silence between them.

"Yeah, I changed it. I'm sorry, but you look familiar…"

"I sit behind you in first period."

"Ah. Well, I'm Chihiro," she stuck out her hand.

"I'm Tomoyo," the girl said, shaking Chihiro's hand.

There was another long silence as both girls stood in the hallway, shuffling their feet against the tile.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in first period," Chihiro said.

"Yeah…" Tomoyo trailed off.

Quickly, Chihiro about faced and headed to the girl's bathroom.

She didn't turn around until she had successfully reached the entrance to the bathroom. Not seeing any sign of Tomoyo anywhere, she let out her breath, and headed into the bathroom humming again.

Chihiro took a quick peek into her classroom, and saw that Tomoyo really did sit behind her. How could I have not noticed her before? What had I been _doing_ the whole school year? Chihiro thought as she nervously swung her bookbag over her shoulder. Deciding that she should probably go inside, she pushed herself from the wall and started to turn into the classroom.

But as she was doing this, she saw Haku walking down the hallway, probably waiting until the last minute to make it into his 1st period. Debating with herself for a minute, Chihiro finally ran down the hallway after him.

As she approached him, she wondered exactly what she was going to say to him. Too late for that, she thought.

And then, he turned around.

Chihiro stopped abruptly, almost positive she had left scuff marks on the tile. Before she could search quickly for some excuse as to why she ran after him, she was interrupted.

"You run strangely," Haku said abruptly, making Chihiro falter.

"Huh? You saw me?"

Haku wordlessly pointed to a classroom door only three feet in front of them. Inside, the classroom was dark, making the window reflective, like a mirror. In the glass, Chihiro could see both of their reflections easily.

"Oh."

There was an uneasy silence between them (at least for Chihiro), and neither of them moved or spoke until the first period bell rang sharply above their heads. Chihiro glanced up at the bell and plugged her ears. Looking back down, she realized Haku had left. Now the only thing she saw was her reflection in the glass of the classroom door.

"Darn," Chihiro quickly spun around determined to make it to class before her teacher noticed she wasn't there.

I'll just have to find Haku at lunch and apologize to him there. And maybe, she thought hopefully, if I'm sincere enough, he might be my friend. She giggled as she made it into the room, causing many people (including Tomoyo) to stare at her. You know, she thought, trying to hide her smile as she sat down, he's sort of cute.

Talk about BORING, Chihiro thought, dangling herself off her desk. This semester they had Music, meaning they were all being forced to learn piano solos. Her teacher had assigned her some sort of waltz. She looked at the sheet music lazily, raising her eye brows. Looked easy enough…

Then again, she had never been too good with her hands.

She heaved a humongous sigh, causing the boy in front of her to stiffen, and turn around slowly. She looked at him innocently from her dangling position. His mouth dropped cartoon-like onto his desk.

"Chihiro! Sit properly, you are not a monkey!" The Music teacher, a young woman in her 20s yelled from the front of the room. Chihiro snapped her head up and slid off her desk quickly back into her chair.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" she let her voice trail off, not really sure how the teacher would react if she had finished her sentence.

"It's just what, Chihiro? Never mind, just come up her and play your song. You were next anyway," the teacher huffed.

"Yes," Chihiro said meekly. She pushed her chair out from under her and made her way down the long lines of desks. She felt every eye on her, and self consciously ran her fingers through her hair. Was there something wrong with the way she looked?

"Chihiro, _please_, today, not next weak," the teacher said, rubbing her temples. Chihiro scurried to the piano bench.

"Alright, now start with the left hand… G, D, G, B, G, D, yes, yes, now the right hand…"

Chihiro did what she was told, and managed to stumble through her piece. The piece pretty much repeated itself over time, so she was able to tune out and listen to the conversations of her classmates. Right behind her were two really pretty girls with long jet black hair, which was being flipped on every _like_ they said.

"…and he is so cute. Like, last year that 10th grader was just, like, hot, but Haku… He just is so… like, wow," said girl #1.

"I know, like, he has that whole… _mysterious_ persona going on. He's sooo smart, too. Not geeky smart, ew, but like… cool smart, you know? Sooo sexy," girl #2 replied.

Chihiro burst out laughing and slammed her hands down on the keys. It was just so hilarious… SO hilarious.

The class stopped what they were doing and gave Chihiro weary glances, as if they had already gotten used to and tired of her sudden personality swing. The Music teacher, however, thought otherwise.

"Chihiro!" she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose frantically. "What, _what…_ Detention! After school! Now, back to your seat before I… before I lose it!"

You've already lost it, Chihiro thought glumly as she walked back to her seat. The two girls who were talking about Haku snickered, "What a LOSER." Giggle, giggle, giggle.

She rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, thank you to my two reviewers, and just for DensLust I've made Miss Stephanie a major character! And I'd also like to thank the person who has favorited this story, THANK YOU.

And PLEASE, Read and Review!

I don't own anything.

**Chapter 3: Detention **

Chihiro couldn't believe it. First of all, she was in detention, and the supervisor was making them wash the floor of 23 classrooms with toothbrushes. There were 26 kids, meaning about one kid per room. Chihiro was actually lucky because she had someone else paired up with her.

Haku was her cleaning partner.

She could not believe it. What could he have possibly done? She thought, silently scrubbing at a piece of gum. She quickly glanced in his direction. He seemed to be pretty good at the whole scrubbing.

She had to ask. She just had to. She cleared her throat, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Just keep scrubbing. Talking will only slow down the process," Haku said harshly, before Chihiro could say anything.

"Geez, I was just going to ask how you got here…" she said under her breath, scrubbing harder at the gum.

"It's none of your business. Now kindly shut up and get to work. I can't stand being here for more than necessary," Haku said angrily. Chihiro glanced at him just as he shoved some desks out of his way.

"You really woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, didn't you? Well, this morning you didn't seem so bad. Was it something that happened at school? You can tell me, you know," Chihiro said, crawling over to Haku. He looked angrily up at her and was just about to open his mouth when she knocked over the soapy water inside their bucket. The water spread everywhere making her slip and slide all over the classroom.

"God! Now you've done it! Get up and help me wipe this all up."

Chihiro sadly stood up and assessed the damage. Water was everywhere. Not only that, but she had also gotten her white uniform shirt soaked. In fact, so soaked you could see right through to her light pink bra. She gasped.

"Now what did you-!?" Haku turned around and stopped. Chihiro could see where his eyes were. She blushed and hugged herself, covering her chest.

"Haku! P-pervert!" She gasped at him, knowing perfectly well it was all her fault. This is what Haku pointed out right away, with a slightly surprised look on his face.

"This was _your_ fault! Don't accuse me of anything, just take my uniform jacket!" He tore his jacket off his back and handed it to her, trying not to look at her chest. When she took it with a small "Thank you," he turned around and grabbed a new toothbrush. There was a loud crash behind him.

"Sorry! I was trying to put your jacket on when…" Chihiro began and looked around. She had slipped on the water again and landed on a desk that was broken. It had collapsed, and she had managed to push a couple of other chairs around the room. Haku's jacket was still only on one arm, and her legs and arms were spread out around her trying to steady herself before she landed into a really dirty puddle of water. She looked up at Haku with an embarrassed and ashamed look on her face. "I'm sorry," she said, cheeks flushing, "I've always been really clumsy…'

She stared at Haku and he stared at her, eyes wide. Then, almost out of no where, Haku laughed, clutching his sides. Chihiro sheepishly hid her face in the folds of her shirt and got up shakily. Haku was still laughing, but he managed to choke out a few words.

"Wait, I'll- towel… be- back," he said, walking out of the classroom.

Chihiro looked down at herself trying to see if she looked funny. Besides her wet t-shirt, she didn't see anything wrong. Then she smiled.

I've made progress with him!

* * *

"Oh, and Miss Stephanie, you won't believe what she said yesterday…" Chihiro's mom started off with a laugh. Even from the kitchen Chihiro could here her mother's book club gossiping about her. Isn't a book club where you're supposed to discuss books, not daughters? She thought arms crossed angrily. She sunk further into Miss Stephanie's cushiony chair and extended her head. If she stretched far enough she could see the women in the living room with their unopened books strewn about. They were all laughing, clutching their sides and covering their mouths.

Having had enough, she slipped out of the kitchen into Miss Stephanie's room. She collapsed onto the water bed and watched the ceiling fan whir around and around. Outside in the hallway, Chihiro could hear light footsteps making their way to the bathroom.

Rolling over onto her stomach, Chihiro fingered the engraved design of a dragon on Miss Stephanie's bed. In and out, over and under, swirling around…

There was a small tapping noise on the open door behind her. Chihiro looked up from her finger's movements to see Miss Stephanie leaning slightly on the door frame.

"Hello there," Miss Stephanie said. She crossed her arms and gave Chihiro a slight nod. "Tired of the gossipers, eh?"

"Yeah," Chihiro sighed. She took her finger down from the dragon and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you guys EVER talk about books? Or is it just for show, in case the men come walking in?"

Miss Stephanie laughed and entered the room. She stuck her hands into the pockets of the apron she was wearing and shook her head.

"You caught us."

"So…" Chihiro began, looking back at the dragon, "you've never actually read_ Life of Pi_?"

"Nope."

"_Sophie's World_?"

Miss Stephanie snorted. "No."

"What _have_ you read?" Chihiro asked incredulously, snapping her head in her direction.

Now sitting next to Chihiro on the bed, Miss Stephanie scratched her chin in thought. "We did read a very raunchy romance book. If I recall correctly, your mother said she learned quite a lot of new positions-"

"EW!" Chihiro threw a pillow at her and shook her head fiercely. Miss Stephanie laughed and stared intently at her dragon design.

"I saw you fingering this… What got you so suddenly interested in dragons, Chihiro?" Miss Stephanie's long brown curly hair fell from its braid and cascaded down around her shoulders. Chihiro secretly pled to God that she would someday grow up to look like Miss Stephanie, tall and lean with the most beautiful hair in the world.

She sighed.

"Hey, you," Miss Stephanie poked her; "you never answered my question."

"Oh! Weeellll," Chihiro drew out the word debating whether or not she should answer. It was sort of embarrassing. Ah, what the heck, she thought. "There's a boy at my school who reminds me of a dragon."

"Huh? A dragon? Is he reptilian looking?"

Chihiro giggled. "No! He's just… I don't know. I guess it's his whole attitude. He just gives off an aura or something."

Miss Stephanie looked at Chihiro with a bemused expression. "Aura? Oh," she smiled knowingly and continued in a sing song voice "you've got the hot's for him!"

Chihiro blushed. "N-no I don't!"

"Yes you do. Hey, what's his name? I probably know his parents. You know how popular I am," she laughed, jokingly.

Chihiro hesitated, but continued when Miss Stephanie gave her a look. "Haku Tokuma."

"The Tokuma's son? You mean the one they just recently let into the public school system? Chihiro, he's an Ice King!"

Chihiro blushed even further. "Well, it just seems as if we've known each other before, so it's not like I'm blindly going up to him," Chihiro lied, hastily pushing some stray hairs behind her ears and switching the conversation around. "So, uh, have you decided to accept Shin's offer of marriage? You should say yes since you'll be turning 27 next month. Everyone says you should have been married years ago, you know."

Miss Stephanie sprung from the bed and pointed an accusing finger at Chihiro. "You're changing the subject! That's a sure sign of love! Oh, woe is you Chihiro! Falling for the Ice King," she dramatically fell to the floor and cried. "My neighbor's daughter has also been caught in Haku's trap of gorgeousness!"

"What do you mean?" Chihiro asked Miss Stephanie, leaning over the bed to glance at her on the floor.

"Well," Miss Stephanie shot up from the floor and kneeled inches away from Chihiro's face, "it's no secret that Haku's gorgeous. I mean, a whole bunch of girls spy on him when he leaves his house. But there's something, well, _off_ about him. Like he has a hidden agenda, or something he's trying to hide. You know, like the Ice Queen in the Chronicles of Narnia. And I'm not even sure he speaks! You see, Chihiro, I bumped into him at the supermarket the other day, and I said sorry and all, but him? He said nothing. He just stared at me intently before disappearing around the corner as quickly as a snake. So saying that he reminds you of a dragon doesn't sound too farfetched."

Chihiro sat skeptically listening to Miss Stephanie's crazy rambling.

"But, hey. I could be wrong. They say you get more senile and paranoid every year."

"But you're only 27!" Chihiro yelled, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Yes, that may be, but…" she let her sentence trail off as she exited the room.

Chihiro flopped backward on the water bed and felt it swish below her. She let out an exasperated sigh as she watched the fan. Boy was Miss Stephanie a handful.

* * *

Hope everyone who read this chapter enjoyed it, and REVIEW!! PLEASE! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Betrayal**

Oh why, oh why, OH WHY!

Chihiro slammed her fists down onto her desk and let her head fall between them. It was 3:00 in the morning and she still didn't understand how the Quadratic formula worked.

There are just WAY too many steps in this stupid thing! she thought, finally lifting her head. She looked at the study sheet that was supposed to help her prepare for (she groaned just thinking about it) the test tomorrow that was worth 5 grades. And her study sheet was only half way done.

This just SUCKS. There's no way I'm going to pass math this year, my parents keep bugging me about that stupid amusement park, I still keep having bizarre dreams that are driving me insane, there's HAKU of course, and then this stupid cold I'm catching! UGH! She stood up from her desk and switched off the lamp. Standing in the complete darkness, she started to undo the two braids she had done in her hair. Feeling the dampness from her hair, she felt much more relaxed. She switched the light back on and got to work.

"You should take it easy, Chihiro. We don't want you collapsing again in the middle of a test," the school nurse told Chihiro. Chihiro nodded and jumped off the long bed that she was sitting on. The nurse shook her head. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. If You're not careful, that cold you have could get even more serious than it is now. Maybe you should go home for the day, rest up a bit."

"I'm fine, I'll think I'll just be heading back to class now," Chihiro grabbed her backpack and shot out the door before the nurse could stop her. She only slowed down when she was half way to her classroom. As she walked down the hallway, she saw a tall girl with fiery red hair and a very short blond (maybe the red head just _looked_ tall next to the blond) deep in conversation. Chihiro walked past them just as the blond started to talk.

"I can't believe he said yes. I'm so happy! But, I'm really nervous, too, Samantha. What do you think we should see?"

A date? Chihiro thought as she walked further away from them. Since she was almost at her classroom at the end of the hallway, Samantha's reply was faint.

"If Haku's a gentleman, which I doubt, he'll let you pick what you want to see."

Chihiro's heart dropped. Her hand paused on the doorknob to her classroom. She snapped her head to the right, about to call out to the girls, but noticed that they had already disappeared down the hallway.

So, the blond was going on a date with… Haku? She opened the door and entered her math class feeling (although she couldn't understand why) betrayed.

"Hello?"

"Hey Miss Stephanie," Chihiro wound the cord from the phone around her fingers. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Saturday? Um… No. Not really. Well, actually, in the morning I have to deliver some flowers to the Smith's house, but that's it. Why? Do your parents need me to baby-sit you?"

"Miss Stephanie! I'm not 3 years old."

"Suurrree. So, then why are you asking?"

"Um…" Chihiro bit her lip, "do you want to see a movie with me tomorrow? It would be around 7:00."

"Hmm. Chihiro, are you asking me out on a date?"

"W-what!?!" Chihiro nearly dropped the phone, she was so surprised. "N-no! I just… uh… want to see a movie with you. I don't want my parents to come with me because all they'll want to see is some documentary."

"Well… You _are_ asking me to a 7:00 movie on a Saturday night. You know, date night."

"Yes, I know. Please? Come with me, please?"

"Alright. But I get to pick the movie. I think that comedy that just came out today will be good."

Chihiro let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks Miss Stephanie."

"No problem. I hate sitting home alone on Saturday nights anyway. See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Chihiro hung up the phone relieved. Now she had someone to go with her to the movies. She walked back up the stairs to her room and closed the door behind her. She flopped down onto her bed and looked out her window. She hadn't told Miss Stephanie the real reason why she wanted to go the movies. She would probably laugh at me, or tell me off for trying to spy on Haku, Chihiro thought. But I want to know if it's really is true… That that girl really _is_ going out on a date with Haku.

And if it is? She asked herself.

Well… I guess I'll cry.

But why? He's not even going out with you. He's barely your friend, either.

I don't know… It just feels as if he's betraying me or something. Like he made me a promise long ago…

"What are you talking about, Chihiro? You just met him! Stop acting like some love struck fool!" She yelled out, pulling the hair at the side of her face.

But instead of reassuring her, her words just made her even more nervous.

Love? Is that what this is?

"Oh, jeez. Looks like it's going to rain later tonight. Oh well, are you ready Chihiro?"

Chihiro nodded and slipped into the front seat of Miss Stephanie's car. As she buckled her seat belt, she noticed that what she had always thought was an ID necklace hanging from the mirror, was really a long wooden rectangle with a weird symbol on it.

"What's that?" she asked as Miss Stephanie turned on the engine.

"Huh? Oh, that old thing? It's just something from my lost job. A souvenir, I guess."

"You mean you haven't always worked at a flower shop?" Chihiro asked.

"Nah. I did some labor at a bath house."

"Oh. Did you keep this souvenir to remember the place? Did you like working there?"

"Heck no. That stupid thing is to remind me never to go back," Miss Stephanie said angrily.

"Oh," Chihiro said in a small voice as she looked at the strange object. It may have looked strange, but for some reason Chihiro thought it looked familiar. But she wasn't about to say THAT in front of Miss Stephanie. She glanced quickly at Miss Stephanie's face and saw that she had her jaw set and hands gripping the steering wheel.

Yeah… Chihiro thought. Not a good idea.

"Alright, let's go to the bathroom real quick so we don't miss parts of the movie," Miss Stephanie told Chihiro as they entered the movie theater. Chihiro nodded absentmindedly and looked around. Just strangers… Strangers… Strangers…

Haku.

Chihiro gasped. Haku was there, and not by himself or with his family, but with that blond girl. They were on a date. Chihiro could feel her heart breaking. Why did seeing Haku smiling with some other girl make her feel so… so… betrayed?

And to make everything worse, Haku noticed her. He looked at her from across the theater and his smile dropped. Chihiro could already feel her shoulders begin to shake. It _was_ true. He was here, on a date with the short blond girl, and not Chihiro.

How could you?

How _could _you?

Her lips were moving, but no sound had come out. But even as she said those words, she doubted their meaning. How could he what? It's not like he's cheating on her. There was never anything between them. They had only conversed a few times (granted, she was the only one at school he ever talked to) and he didn't even show signs of liking her. So how could I be feeling like this? What's wrong with me?

"Chihiro? Chihiro, are you alright?" Chihiro could feel Miss Stephanie's hand on her shoulder as the tears began to spill. Only slightly aware of what was going on, Chihiro could see Haku make eye contact with Miss Stephanie. Then Miss Stephanie moved her away from where she was standing. Leaning in to her ear, Miss Stephanie whispered, "Is this why you wanted to come here?"

Chihiro cried harder and broke Miss Stephanie's grasp. It was all just too much…

She ran, and never looked back.

Chihiro stopped at the entrance of the park. She glanced behind her shoulder to make sure Miss Stephanie wasn't following her. When no one appeared for a minute or two, Chihiro finally resumed her run into the park.

She followed the winding path until she reached a strange monument. There was no one around save for a few birds and a couple of stray cats. Settling down beside a tree not too far from the monument, Chihiro grabbed her knees and began to sob. Everything that had happened just fifteen minutes before came rushing back into her brain. Haku with that girl… The strange realization of her feelings… running away from Miss Stephanie…

She didn't know how long she sat underneath that tree, but when she finally stopped sobbing, she could feel a cold breeze. She remembered what her dad always said. First comes the darkness, then the cold winds, and last, the downpour.

She looked up from below her tree and saw thought it had become dark, and it was starting to drizzle. Searching for warmth, she stuck her head back down and hugged her knees tighter. The rain thickened and she could feel her hair sticking to her face. Every time the thunder and lightning occurred, she hugged herself harder. And then…

"Chihiro?"

That voice! Her head snapped up and there he stood.

Haku looked down at her with concern in his eyes. He was panting, and there was mud on his pant legs. He sighed. "What are you doing here? You'll get sick."

Chihiro almost laughed at the idea. She was _already _sick. What did it matter if her cold got any worse? She was about to turn away when Haku stuck out his hand. She looked at it disbelieving, and a little reluctantly. Why was he treating her so nicely after betraying her like that?

When she didn't take his hand, he reached down and grasped it in his and pulled her up. She swayed a little from the sudden change of position, and was guided over to the shelter of the monument. Chihiro stood under the strangely shaped monument with Haku for what felt like centuries. She was vaguely aware that Haku still held her hand tightly, and that there was a loud pounding in her ears. Her eyelids began to droop, and at the same time Haku turned to her with an anxious expression on his face.

Chihiro could feel his cold fingers touch her forehead.

"You're HOT!" he said, standing in front of her and moving the wet hair from her face. "Are you sick?"

He's worried about me… Chihiro thought, somewhat happily. She felt herself fall and thought how strange that was… I'm falling? Why am I falling?

Then she blacked out in his arms.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 5: A Boyfriend?

The second bell rang loudly above her as she entered the classroom. The noise seemed to stab her head in a million different places. Chihiro grimaced, and glanced around the classroom. Yes, just another Monday, she thought as she took in everyone's faces. Just another Monday with an unbelievably painful headache. She took her seat and heard the faint rattle of pills inside her book bag's front pocket. She decided to sneak a few later on. "Alright, alright! Settle down, please! First, I'll call the attendance, and then I'll collect the homework. If you don't have it, too bad," her teacher slammed his attendance book onto the podium and furiously ripped through the pages. He looked rather psychotic. "Don't even bother trying to make up some lame excuse. Sean."  
"Here."  
Chihiro reached for her bag in panic. Homework? She thought. She hadn't even thought about homework over the weekend. Well, it's not like I could have done it, anyway. I was so sick; I slept the whole day on Sunday. Chihiro smacked her head only to regret it a second later. Why didn't I have my mom sign me a note?  
Someone jabbed her shoulder, hard. She winced and turned around. It wasn't just her head that hurt; her whole body seemed to be one huge ache. She tried not to rip off Tomoyo's head and throw it out the window.  
"Here," Tomoyo handed her the homework with a concerned look on her face. "Sorry if I poked you too hard, it's just that you didn't notice the first couple of times. Are you okay"  
Am I okay? My body feels like it was stomped on by a marching band, my head aches so much I wouldn't mind decapitating myself, because THAT pain would be like paradise compared to this, and I can't even remember what I did all weekend. It's all a blank. I remember calling Mrs. Stephanie to go to the movies, and then POOF! Nothing. "I'm fine, just a little tired," Chihiro smiled and took the papers from Tomoyo. She turned around instantly dropped her smile, passed the homework to the left, and prepared for her name to be called.  
"Chihiro."  
"Here," she said, wishing she wasn't. When the teacher had finally finished going over the roll and homework (during which time Chihiro counted the number of freckles he had on his nose) and they were assigned a worksheet to do, Chihiro was snapped out of her pain filled stupor when the silence in the classroom was interrupted.  
"Gilda"  
Chihiro turned to look at Gilda, the notorious motor mouth. Her mouth was still wide open and her hands were in mid gesture. It looked like she was describing how long someone's (ahem) fish was. This can't be good, she thought. "Switch seats with Chihiro."  
She was slightly taken aback by how minor the punishment was. Normally, their teacher gave the whole class an extra assignment, or detentions. Chihiro almost smiled at their good luck. Gilda, however, didn't seem to agree with Chihiro's reasoning. "What?" She practically hissed as she narrowed her eyes and dropped her hands. The teacher just glared at her while Chihiro got her stuff together quickly, trying to minimize the likelihood of Gilda getting the whole class into trouble. When she crossed the room and settled into her new chair, a wave of pain washed over her. She blinked her eyes firmly, refusing not to cry, and reached into her book bag for the pills. She swallowed three. Finally she stared directly in front of her to where the teacher should have been.  
Should' being the chosen word because Chihiro could no longer see anything but Karen's curly, red hair. She rubbed her forehead, trying to ease yet another headache born from the Texan hair in front of her. At least I have a window seat, she thought, trying to be optimistic.  
"Chihiro." She stopped rubbing abruptly and shivered as she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Her mind racing, she glanced around using only her eyes to see where she was positioned in the room. Of course! She thought, inwardly kicking herself. You IDIOT, you sit in front of Haku now! She ducked down behind Karen's hair (although honestly, she needn't have worried, Karen's hair was large enough to block her from view even if she were standing) and turned around nervously. "Uh. yes?" she whispered. He looked great right then. Their window seats allowed the sun to get caught in his hair. It seemed to make it dazzle (was that a hint of green?) along with his eyes. Her own eyes widened. "Do you know Alice?" His words crashed her down to Earth. Her head pounded as she tried to understand. Alice. Alice in Wonderland? But why would he be asking her about a fictional character? "Erm. no. Should I?" she asked, still trying to place the name and how that girl could be related to Haku.  
Let it be his sister. Oh God, let it be his sister.  
Haku sighed and rested his head in his hand. Chihiro suddenly hoped she hadn't disappointed him. Well, I would be sort of depressed if someone didn't know my sister... If I had a sister, that is. (She seemed to have already convinced herself that Alice was his sister)  
He glanced up at her and whispered, "Turn around; he just called your name."  
"Eh?" Chihiro asked, still caught in her thoughts. "CHIHIRO! How many times must I call your name?!" the teacher seemed to be spitting fire at her from his podium. She cursed under her breath and suddenly felt very loopy. The pills seemed to be taking affect. She walked with some difficulty to the front of the class. When she finally reached him, he leaned forward over the podium, resting his shoulders over his attendance/grade book, and lowered his voice.  
"Chihiro. This past week you seem to have been. very disruptive, and not yourself. To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. I think from now on you should go talk to your guidance counselor about your behavior, or any other personal problems that you may be having," he said, cleaning his glasses tiredly. "And I think your first visit should be right now. Please, go."  
Ha! He thinks I have personal problems! Oh, if he only knew.  
"O-okay." she said, standing up with her head dropped. She feared that if she looked at him, she'd start to laugh.  
"I'll send someone with you. Sean, could you please escort her."  
"Alright."  
Chihiro heard scraping from the front of the room. She glanced up as she stuffed her binder into her bag to see who she would be walking with. He had shaggy blond hair, chestnut eyes, nice teeth, a tan, and he actually made his uniform look. cool. And oh my god was he tall. So tall, in fact, Chihiro had to crane her neck to see him. She figured that was why his face seemed so dark, because the shadows of his height were messing with her. She smiled a little. He was HOT.  
With one last glance at her teacher, she (somewhat gladly and giddily) exited the classroom with Sean. It's these pills taking affect, she thought as she smiled up at Sean. It's gotta be the pills.

* * *

"So, Chihiro, you're quite the puzzle, aren't you?"  
Chihiro looked at Sean skeptically as they passed the bathrooms. "What do you mean by that?" She said, trying to sound casual while her heart was beating fast. The pills. It's the pills that are making my heart go crazy.  
"Oh, nothing. Say, are you doing anything Friday?"  
Chihiro sucked air in so fast she was afraid she'd choke. "N-no. Why?" she asked. Is he. asking me on. a date? More importantly, do I want him to? She almost snorted at her last question.  
"Oh, no reason I guess. Just wondering what your plans were."  
They walked in silence for a few paces until Chihiro finally broke the silence.  
"Is it because you want to do something together?"  
He chuckled. "Maybe. Here's your stop. If you give me your number, perhaps I'll call you."  
Chihiro could feel her eyes light up. "555-879-2309," she said, trying to calm down. "Thanks," Sean said with a smile. "Wait, don't you have to write it down?" Chihiro said, as she reached for the office door.  
"No, I have a _very_ good memory. It's very convenient. Anyways, I'll see you later. Chi," he waved to her as he exited the hallway.  
Chihiro stood in front of the office door in a trance for what seemed like hours. Chi? What the hell was Chi? My nickname?! It sounded like something you'd name a parrot. It wasn't exactly. romantic. In fact, it had pretty much snapped the hearts out of her eyes.  
"You should go inside," a voice came from behind her. "You look kind of stupid just standing there, freshman."  
Chihiro snapped back to Earth and whirled around. A tall senior nodded toward the door. She smiled and laughed at her foolishness, slightly embarrassed that a senior had caught her daydreaming.  
She wrenched the door open and walked inside, suddenly remembering something. She wrenched open the door again and yelled, "I'm not a freshman, moron."  
"I sincerely hope you're not talking to me, Chihiro," her counselor said, coffee and donuts in hand. Chihiro gazed up into her face and smiled weakly. "My office, I think."  
Just faintly Chihiro could hear someone laughing in the hallway.

* * *

Twenty-tenths can be reduced to two over one, which can be even further reduced to two. Ow, my head is starting to hurt again. Now I just plug that in as y and solve for x... "Chihiro, phone for you."  
Chihiro's heart raced. It was him. It had to be Sean. No one else knew her phone number. Haku sure didn't know her number.  
She got to her feet quickly and left her math homework on the floor. She jumped down the stairs two at a time and ran to the kitchen, where the only phone was located. Her mother smiled and handed it to her. "It's a boy for you, Chihiro. Don't talk for too long," she whispered.  
Chihiro nodded, "Okay, Mom." She took the phone eagerly and placed it against her ear. She inhaled deeply trying to calm herself, and exhaled. "Hello?" she tried to say casually, as if she hadn't been waiting for him to call.  
"Hello, Chi."  
Oh my god.

* * *

Sorry for such a long wait, but now that its here... PLEASE review!!! 


	6. Chapter 6

Hey, sorry for such a long wait, (I say that every time I update, don't I?) but guess what? Its practically 7 pages long! Yes, it took forever to edit. I still probably missed some stuff... oh well. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and don't forget to (do I really have to say this?) R&R!

A/N: I don't own anything.

* * *

Chapter 6: The Dragon Emerges 

_Wow. I can't believe it._

"…said we'd go last week, but since I couldn't get the time off from work, I thought this week would be good…"

I can't believe it. A date with Sean. A date with Sean! On Wednesday. I wonder where he'll take me?

"I think that sounds great. Chihiro, make sure you get home right after school on Wednesday so we can go to that amusement park, okay?"

_But why me? I mean, I'm not really all that extraordinary. I'm just an average Jane, brown hair, brown eyes, average height, okay smile-_

"Chihiro. Chihiro!"

Chihiro snapped out of her thoughts. She looked around her dining room table, disoriented. Oh right, she thought. I was eating… She looked down at her plate. Angel hair pasta with sauce. Right…

"Chihiro. Please listen when we talk to you. Its disrespectful to zone out," her mother told her, helping herself to another serving of pasta. "As I was saying, you need to make sure you get home on time after school on Wednesday, okay? We're all going to the amusement park as a family."

_A family. They've got to be kidding._

"Yeah, a family. Been a long time since we've done something together, eh? I think the last thing we did together was drive here when we moved!" Her father laughed. "Man, aren't we horrible?"

Chihiro twirled the pasta around her fork. "I can't go."

"Don't be silly. We're all going," her mother said automatically.

"But Mom! I have-," she stopped, realizing her parents didn't know about Sean. They probably would want to meet him first, and etc. before she was allowed to go out with him… And what if they didn't even like him? What if they banished her from ever going out with him?

"I have something to do with Miss Stephanie," Chihiro said, nonchalantly.

Her mother raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Yeah," she said, taking a bit of the pasta. "She said she'd give me volunteer hours if I helped her out. After school on Wednesday, of course. No other day is available," Chihiro quickly threw out that last sentence. "I can't just blow her off for some amusement park."

Her father snorted.

"I'm sure you can do it another time. She works almost everyday. You can do it on Thursday."

"But I just said! She can't let me work any other day. It's my only chance," Chihiro exclaimed. She thought frantically for an excuse. "And anyways, Miss Stephanie has a date with Shin on Thursday. You can't expect me to ask her to postpone that, since you know how close they are to, well, you know…"

Her father chewed thoughtfully on a long strand of pasta. "Tomorrow. Change the volunteering to tomorrow. Then Wednesday will be free for the amusement park, and Miss Stephanie can have Thursday free for her date. And the rest of the weekend, for that matter."

Chihiro grimaced at that last comment, but still forged on. "But I can't do it tomorrow either! I have detention!"

Her mother let her fork clash with her dish. "Detention? What for?" She narrowed her eyes.

Chihiro laughed nervously. She realized belatedly that that was probably the wrong excuse. "Well, you see… _ha ha_… it's funny you should ask…"

"Chihiro…" her father began.

"I got in a fight with my friend, and we used the black board erasers to hit each other with. So, POOF! The room was filled with chalk dust. Two girls had asthma attacks. Quite dreadful."

There was silence in the room as her parents digested the story she just delivered to them. Chihiro wondered if they were actually buying all the things she was telling them. Finally, her mom took a bite of her pasta and looked to her father.

"Well, in that case, you're not going ANYWHERE this week," she said as Chihiro's father nodded.

"Wait, what?" Chihiro let her fork fall onto her plate with a clatter. That wasn't how it was supposed to happen!

"You heard me. You're not leaving this house. Now finish your food and go straight to bed."

Chihiro grumbled angrily. Seemed like she'd have to see how far a drop it was from her window to the ground…

Tap tap tap.

A woman sat in a chair sideways, so that her large body could fit next to her desk. The few strands of gray hair falling from her bun dangled in front of her old, wrinkled face. She lifted the hand impatiently tapping the desk so that she could brush those strands away from her eyes. When she had finished, she continued to tap the desk with her long pointed fingernails.

She was glancing consistently in two directions: to the closed door about twenty paces in front of her, and a closed curtain to the left of her. She looked longingly at the curtain, and angrily at the door. A bird cawed behind her.

"Shut up, you," she growled.

The bird rustled its feathers.

The door in front of her groaned.

"Finally. Let him in!" she called.

The door flung open, revealing a long hallway that took an abrupt turn. Doors all along the hallway were being slammed open as she curled her finger. After a few moments, a boy was whisked into view by an unseen force caused by the motions of the woman's finger.

"Well?" she croaked.

The boy stood up straighter than before and looked her square in the eye. "I found the seal."

Her left eye popped open. "What? You did? Then give it here!"

"I don't have it yet."

The woman stood up angrily and slammed her hands onto the desk in front of her. Three green lumps hidden from view suddenly shot out from under her desk. They began to make strange noises as they hopped about.

"Be quiet!" she yelled above the noise. A few more strands fell from the bun. She directed her gaze back to the boy in front of her. "Explain yourself. Why haven't you secured the seal? Wait, what about the boy? Haku? Where is he?"

The boy was silent.

"You don't have him, do you? I can't believe this. I send you out into the world to find two simple objects. Simple objects! And now you're saying after all this time you don't have EITHER?" She bellowed the last word.

"I tried. I had the seal but…"

The woman leaned forward. "But? But what!?"

"I- don't have it anymore."

"Well, obviously! Where is it now? Who has it?"

"Chihiro or as you know her, Sen."

There didn't seem to be a single murmur or whisper of noise in the room. All was silent. The bird behind the woman lifted its head from were it had been resting. The three green lumps stared at nothing. The woman seemed to be having a silent seizure.

"Sen…?" The woman whispered.

"Yes," the boy answered. "I'm guessing she took it the day she left. And she's kept it ever since. Maybe as a souvenir. I don't know. But she seems to be guarding it very safely. I haven't seen it once after the first time I spotted it."

The woman sat down. "This won't do…" she murmured. "I can't just take her back, either… She earned her freedom… Wait, what about Haku? Tell me you at least know where he is!"

"Yes… He's currently residing with a family that doesn't live too far from here. Nowhere near the water, but closer than any other neighborhood. He also doesn't seem to remember anything."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. He just lives like a normal teenager at the moment."

The woman glared at the boy in front of her. "I need him back. He was a loyal servant who ran away… A servant who needs to be punished. Now go."

The boy bowed deeply and exited the room. Just before the doors slammed behind him, the woman yelled out to him.

"Don't slip up, Masao! I'll turn you into a pig, just like the rest of your family!"

Chihiro woke up with a pill hangover. She didn't think that was quite possible, but she didn't have any other way to explain the fact that she still had a mind-boggling head ache. Next to her, her old light pink alarm clock was flashing. Must have lost power last night… she thought. Might as well get out of bed for school.

She stumbled around a bit with her clothes, and stepped on something cool and hard.

"OW!" she cried, grabbing her foot. She fell backward onto her bed. She squeezed her eyes shut, clutching her foot. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow…"

Finally she let go of her foot and leaned over to find the cursed object that had caused her so much pain.

A small gold figurine glinted up at her. It was poking out from underneath her bed, and she thought it looked strange there. First of all, how had it gotten there? She couldn't remember ever letting the figurine off of her desk. She picked it up curiously. Another thing, she thought. How did I get it, again?

After a few moments of observing the object, she shrugged her shoulders lamely. She couldn't make heads or tails of how it came into her possession. She was almost 100 positive that no relative of hers gave it to her for a birthday, she didn't buy it with her own money, and she most definitely didn't win it in any contest. She tossed it onto her desk. It collided with her lamp, making a loud clank as it fell back to the floor.

"Oops."

Chihiro slammed out of her bedroom. She was late. Late, late, late!

She took off out the front door and only paused to shout a quick hello to Miss Stephanie. She laughed at Chihiro's running like usual. "What'll happen if an angry spirit starts chasing you, eh? You'll trip and fall!" She shouted at Chihiro's retreating form. Chihiro turned around and stuck out her tongue. Miss Stephanie laughed harder.

She ran all the way to school, something she hadn't done in a long time, and looked all around for Sean. On the phone last night he had told her that he would probably be late because of transportation issues, but she still looked anyways. She couldn't find him, and eventually went to her first period. She was really worried about how she was going to explain her predicament… What was she going to say? "Sorry Sean, I can't go out with you because of a detention I have today. Its fake, of course, but I'm grounded because of it. So sorry, but no date for you!"

She sighed. Her life was going downhill, and fast. She was walking to her first period when suddenly an idea struck her. She could change the date from Wednesday to today! It was a bit short notice, but it just might work!

She entered her first period happily. She even smiled at Haku as he walked by.

Sean couldn't do the date on such short notice.

Chihiro sadly walked home. She slowly placed one foot in front of the other, careful for cracks in the sidewalk. She didn't notice Miss Stephanie standing in front of her until she clapped her on the shoulder.

"Don't you look downright cheerful?"

Chihiro squinted up at her. "Go away…" she said pitifully.

Miss Stephanie clucked her tongue. "That's no way to treat your neighbor. Now, what's this I hear about you supposedly not being allowed to help me out with my deliveries because of a detention you got? A detention for… what was it? Oh yes, getting into a chalk dust fight with your friend?"

Chihiro shifted her feet. "Uh…"

"Aren't you lucky that I went along with your bogus story, eh?"

Chihiro widened her eyes. "You did?"

"Yeah, sure. Nothing to lose, right? But now you owe me, okay? I'm thinking something in the shape of chocolates, or a really big burger. Food, mainly. Got that? Food."

Chihiro nodded.

"Okay, I got to make a couple more deliveries so I'm out of here. See you later," Miss Stephanie waved at her as she jogged back to her car. Chihiro entered her house with a little more bounce in her step, happy that at least her lies were turning out nicely.

She was doing English problems when she heard the knock on the door. It startled her, since her mother had just left a few minutes ago for her major shopping trip, and her father was at work until midnight. She had no idea who could be at the door. Maybe Miss Stephanie, she thought absentmindedly. She got up from her chair and accidentally knocked her textbook down onto her foot.

"OW!" she cried in pain. She grabbed her foot yet again (the same one as that morning, oddly enough) and dragged it closer to her. Eyes squeezed tight, she released her foot and hopped awkwardly down her stairs to the door.

"Yes, yes," she said irritably to whoever was knocking so earnestly at her door. She flung the door open in one motion. And for the split second it took to reveal who it was knocking, she thought, Haku.

I really want Haku to be the one knocking.

The door swung open to reveal a boy dressed in a dark blue polo. His skin was dark, and a necklace with a shark tooth peaked out between his collar.

The boy perked his head to the side like a dog and said with a smile, "You look weird when you limp."

It was Sean. Of course it's Sean, she said to herself. Why would it be Haku? Why would I _want_ it to be Haku? I like Sean now, and Sean likes me. That practically makes us a couple! (Uh, not really.)

_But you love Haku. So of course you'd want to see him instead of this wannabe surfer on your doorstep_, the voice said.

And the worst thing was, she couldn't agree more.

"…which is the name of my school in Australia. Or, I should say, the name of the high school I should be going to," Sean said, sitting across from Chihiro on her front step. She nodded eagerly.

"So you lived in Australia for your whole life before you moved here?"

"Yeah," he said, just smiling that small smile of his. Chihiro nodded again, immensely interested.

"So why don't you have an accent or anything? Don't Australians use different words for things than we do?" Chihiro pulled her legs up to her chest. She was only vaguely aware of the streetlights switching on all around them.

Sean shrugged. "Its just not natural anymore. I'm so used to talking like this that I forgot some things. Anyways, it doesn't matter. So, Chi, tell me about you. Where are you from?"

Chihiro lowered her legs back onto the sidewalk in front of them. "Well, I don't know if you knew this, but I moved here recently. A couple of years ago I guess. But I don't have that interesting of a heritage. Japanese for a few centuries, most likely," Chihiro sighed. Another plain aspect about me, she thought. Why does he like old regular me, I wonder? Suddenly she brightened. "Did you used to surf in Australia?"

Sean smirked. "Of course."

Chihiro broke out into a humongous smile. "Tell me some surfer lingo!"

He leaned towards her with a smile. "And what will you do for me if I tell you a few words?"

Chihiro blushed a bobbed her head around, making her ponytail swish back and forth. "I'll tell you some Japanese lingo."

Sean just looked at her. Chihiro realized what she had just said and laughed. "I can't believe I just said that… Of course you already know Japanese lingo…" She laughed even more.

Sean seemed amused as he looked around them. Suddenly his expression changed. He seemed to have spotted something odd in the glowing night. Chihiro saw his look of confusion slowly spread in a sinister smile. She turned around, now curious to what he was looking at.

She gasped. What she saw looked like a ghost: someone was standing just out of reach of the streetlights and was dressed in a white shirt and black pants. Their hair tousled as they walked towards them. Chihiro stood up, frightened. However, when the person came closer, she realized it was none other than Haku.

She brought a hand to her chest in relief. Then a sense of confusion and embarrassment came over her. What was Haku doing here? In front of her house at this time of night? She didn't understand. She felt Sean stand up next to her and slide his arm around her shoulder. This made her feel even more embarrassed. For some reason she felt like she had just been caught stealing the last cookie in the cookie jar. As if her being with Sean without Haku knowing was a crime.

She tried to shrug Sean arm off her shoulder discreetly, so she wouldn't hurt either of their feelings. But Sean was much too strong for Chihiro. His arm stayed on her shoulder. Now she was getting uncomfortable.

Something flashed across Haku's face. Anger.

"Get your arm off of her."

"What? Why? It's not a big deal, you two aren't an item or anything," Sean replied from behind me.

This didn't bode well.

"Can't you see she doesn't want you to touch her?"

She felt Sean shift behind her. She tried not to let uneasiness show, but she knew it was a futile effort. He dropped his arm.

A long uneasy silence engulfed them. Chihiro felt her uneasiness heighten every time she looked at Haku. His face was so angry and he was so pale… As if all the blood had drained from him. She looked down to see his fists shaking uncontrollably. She thought she saw a red dot fall to the ground. She snapped her head back up to Haku's face.

"H-Haku, I uh, what, he," she looked for words to try and express anything, the silence and situation was unbearable. She could practically feel the hatred flowing out of Haku, and the cold silence from Sean was frightening. "Why are you here?"

Haku moved only his eyes to look at her. And in a split second, his whole expression changed. His mouth opened partly, and his face relaxed into a pained look. Chihiro didn't know what was going on… Was he at a loss for words, or was it something else…?

And just as suddenly as this unguarded emotion appeared, it disappeared and was replaced by fury yet again. Haku looked back at Sean and clenched his fists harder than before. Chihiro was almost completely sure she saw blood collecting around Haku's knuckles. Behind her, she felt Sean shift closer to her, almost taunting him.

And then it happened.

He snapped.

Chihiro watched as Haku lost every bit of control he had put on himself. Every bit of self restraint melted away in one big rush. Haku seemed to undergo a transformation. Chihiro was frightened beyond belief by how he looked… like a savage beast zeroing in on its prey… like a…

Dragon.

Right before she sidestepped out of his way, Chihiro for some reason saw a dragon flash before her. She had covered her wide eyes and moved out of the way in the nick of time.

She heard a loud sound, as if rock was colliding with rock. Her eyes popped open and she whirled around in time to see Sean collapse onto the ground. Haku breathed deeply, and Chihiro could still see hints of dragon in him.

It was familiar. She couldn't place why, but it bothered her, knowing that it was just at the tip of her mind…

Sean clutched the side of his face and staggered to a stand. He cursed as he brushed by them. "Bye Chi," he mumbled to her.

Chihiro followed him with her gaze. He disappeared into an alley not to far from her street. She turned around to glance at Haku. He looked normal again. He was slightly uncomfortable, she could see standing on her porch after just punching the boy she was hoping to get a date with. She supposed she should hate him, but… Of course she didn't. It was Haku. How could she ever hate Haku?

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, I..." he glanced at her with an apologetic look. He seemed helpless, like he really couldn't understand why he had just punched Sean. Chihiro simply looked at him. He took her lack of reaction as anger and forged on.

"I understand if you're upset at me, and I-"

"I don't hate you," she whispered, cutting him off before he got too carried away in apologizing.

"Thank you," Haku said, visibly relieved.

Chihiro stared at him. Suddenly, all thoughts of pursuing Sean were gone. All thoughts of Sean or any other boy were gone from her head… possibly forever.

Here he was, on her doorstep.

She stepped towards him.

He had come to her.

Another step.

He had come for her.

Step.

He was here.

_Can we meet again?_

_I'm sure._

_Promise?_

_Promise._

_**Nothing that happens is ever forgotten, even if you can't remember it.**_


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! sorry for the long wait, it was totally unnecessary. we just kept forgetting to update. anyways, thank you for reviewing as always, and hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter! (although the title is pretty lame...)

* * *

Chapter 7: And the Plot Thickens…

A million images flashed before her eyes. She was on a bridge, then she was in a pig stall, a large tub, on a train filled with shadow-like people, sleeping in a room with other workers like her, falling through the sky, a mouse, three green heads, an over-sized baby, a dragon…

Her brain felt like it had been slammed against the inside of her head. The images kept flashing by faster and faster, gold, water, trains, witches, paper, soot bugs, spirits, bathhouses, pigs, frogs-

Until it suddenly stopped.

Her eyes flashed open to look at Haku, or rather, Kohaku.

It was him. Her first love and her only, she realized now. She was finally able to connect all the loose ends and remember him, and everything else she had gone through. Chihiro began to think about why she had forgotten everything in the first place, but quickly pushed it away. She had more important things to deal with.

She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Haku's soft laughter. He stepped back from her as she looked at him quizzically.

"Why are you laughing?" After all, she had just had this amazingly vast epiphany, and there he was, laughing his head off.

He just shook his head, as if to say it didn't matter, and started to walk away.

"Wait!" she called out to him. She ran after him and tugged his shirtsleeve, "Kohaku, wait."

He turned to look at her. His eyes were clouded with confusion. "My name is Haku."

Chihiro tugged his shirtsleeve again impatiently. "No! Kohaku- Haku, fine, whatever you want to be called, that's your _real_ name! Don't you remember? Remember, I'm Sen! Or, that's what I was called there, in the Spirit World, and you helped me. You helped me escape, Haku," Chihiro said, just noticing the tears falling down her cheeks.

Haku looked horrified at the sight of her tears. He took the sides of her face in his hands and looked at her with concern. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Please don't cry. Why are you crying?"

It was Chihiro's turn to laugh. "Because I'm happy. I'm happy that you came back for me, like you promised. I'm glad for your freedom, too. And the fact that everything is fine, and that we can be together now," she said, closing her eyes and raising her right hand to hold his left, which was still holding her face.

Haku's expression changed again. "I don't remember any promise, I'm sorry but I don't know what you're talking about."

Chihiro stepped back, just like the first time he had appeared, and shook her head. "You still don't remember? But- but you left that place! You should remember that you're really a river spirit or god, or whatever and that you can shape shift into a dragon, and-!"

"No," Haku said firmly. Chihiro shied further away from him. "Those things don't exist. How could they? All this talk about gods and river spirits, they don't _exist. _I _can't_ be a god. Listen Chihiro, Kohaku is not my name; it has been even before I was adopted two years ago. You're name is Chihiro; I don't know who Sen is."

Chihiro tried once more to make Haku remember. "But that's just it! Two years ago, I moved here. Two years ago, I was Spirited Away. Two years ago, you helped me return to the normal world and promised to meet me again! You have to remember, Haku. You just have to!" She was now holding onto the front of his shirt in desperation. He looked down at her and she could see different things in his eyes. Hurt, confusion, and denial.

"I have to go."

He about faced and left her.

* * *

Chihiro awoke the next morning feeling terrible. After Haku had left, she had entered her house. She had stood in the doorway until her mom had gotten home with the groceries. When asked why she was standing in the dark, she just shook her head sadly and went up to bed. Now she felt like she would be devoid of emotion for the rest of her life.

As she pushed herself off her bed, she started to wonder how she had dealt with it before. There were two times when her heart had been strained to no end, and broken even. First was the time when she and her family had returned from the Spirit World. She remembered sitting on her porch for days before school began, expecting Haku to stroll down her street and back into her life. But he never came. School started, and she was a walking shell.

The second time, of course, was when Haku had returned, and she had been so overjoyed with happiness that he had finally come, that when he had shot her down, it hurt her all the more. And then… she had lost her memories. She paused in what she was doing, slipping her right foot into her uniform sock, to think about that.

Why had she lost her memories? Was that her way of dealing with his refusal of being with her? But then why hadn't she forgotten before, when he hadn't come to her for all those years? She tugged the sock onto her foot, and stood up. Having finished getting ready for school, she exited her house after waving first to her dad at the table.

So she had forgotten everything only when he had flat out refused any knowledge of her. That meant she would most likely lose her memories again, she thought, not really that disappointed. What a relief to forget the horrible feeling she had in her chest, she thought. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.

Why should I forget? There are so many wonderful memories I have of him, of promises of us being together, that would hurt even more to give up. Why hadn't I realized before, when I had forgotten everything, the deep void it had left in my heart? For that was what had been egging at her for the past few days, the thing that she couldn't remember and so desperately wanted to. She began to walk again down her street.

I will not forget. Not this time, and never again, she firmly resolved. And I WILL NOT be a dead shell, or overly ecstatic, like I was before. I will continue to live my life to the fullest, with or without Haku.

* * *

Although it had pained her to be so close to Haku without being able to talk to him without a care in the world, she was able to make it through her first period class. She noticed that he felt a little uneasy around her, probably because of her little speech the night before, and tried to avoid all unnecessary contact. This hurt even more, but she refused to dwell on it, and instead actually paid attention to the lesson.

When she entered her music class, she felt everyone staring at her. She wondered why she was attracting so much attention, and suddenly remembered how inappropriately she had acted in this class. Dangling on the desk, banging the piano keys, laughing hysterically, and even talking rudely to the teacher on some occasions. She cringed and took her seat. The boy who sat in front of her edged forward, he was obviously trying to avoid getting involved in any of her childish antics.

"Today is the day I had set aside for all of your performances, so I do hope you all practiced last night (Chihiro's eyes widened, but said nothing to this statement). Anyways, will our first performer please come up?" The music teacher gestured for a tall red-haired girl to come to the piano. The girl stood up in such a way that it led Chihiro to believe that she had indeed practiced all night.

After the girl had performed, Chihiro let her mind wander some, as there were still quite a few people to go before it was her turn.

Miss Stephanie hasn't mentioned Shin in a while, she thought. She remembered that just a few weeks ago Miss Stephanie used to dine out with him every night. Now they only got together once every week, and that was if they were lucky. Chihiro realized that everyone just sort of assumed they were close to their engagement, but what if that wasn't the case? What if Shin and Miss Stephanie were drifting further apart from each other?

Chihiro bit her lip nervously. What if it was because Miss Stephanie had been watching out for her these past few weeks? Had Chihiro been the cause of their almost separation?

"Chihiro! Come up to the front to perform your song, please," the music teacher readjusted her thick black glasses on her nose. Chihiro calmly stood up and brought her sheet music with her.

"You know it's one letter grade off for reading from the sheet music," she said. Chihiro nodded, and sat down. Slowly she placed her fingers on the ivory keys. She looked over at her teacher and waited for her to nod. When she received the signal, she began to play.

The music she was playing slowly and gently brought her to another time. She was gliding in her memories of Haku and the Spirit World. Of Lin and No-Face. Watching the sunset while sitting on the porch that was outside of her and the other workers' room.

The song ended, and she could feel tears in her eyes. Quickly, she blinked them away. She looked over to her music teacher.

"Very nice, Chihiro," she said with awe in her voice. "Thank you."

Chihiro stood up and walked slowly back to her seat.

* * *

The rest of the school day passed with no consequence. She had eaten lunch with Tomoyo, as usual, and walked home. Only when she reached her house had something gone off kilter.

"Chihiro! Oh, Chihiro! Wait," Miss Stephanie came sprinting across the lawn towards her.

"What? What's wrong?" Chihiro asked worriedly, for she had just noticed that Miss Stephanie's face was streaked with tears.

"Have you… have you seen him?" She clutched Chihiro's shoulders with such strength, that Chihiro wondered how she could have possibly built up that much muscle just by lifting flowers.

Then she realized something.

"Miss Stephanie… are you… did you change your name? Were you once… Lin?"

Miss Stephanie smiled weakly. "Ah, finally you remember. I was wondering how long it'd take before you tied up all the loose ends. And I was leaving so many clues."

"You- you were?" Chihiro gasped in astonishment.

"Yeah, but you never took the bait. But I really can't talk about this. Have you seen Shin?" She released Chihiro's shoulders to hastily stick her long wavy brown hair into a ponytail. Chihiro opened her mouth to question her different hairstyle, but instead backtracked and answered Miss Stephanie's first question.

"No. Is he missing?"

Miss Stephanie cried out in anguish. "I knew it! I knew it! This is my punishment!" She pounded her hand into Chihiro's door. Then she stopped abruptly. She looked down at Chihiro with sheer terror on her face. "Oh no, Haku!"

* * *

Chihiro paced her bedroom impatiently. Every few seconds she'd stop and clench her hands together into a prayer and close her eyes in the process. Then she'd return to her pacing.

After Miss Stephanie had uttered Haku's name, she had pushed Chihiro toward her door and commanded her to stay in her house and not to leave for anyone.

"But, wait-!"

"No! Just do as I say! If you don't go to them or let them come into your room, then they can't do anything to you. Now go, before anything happens!" Miss Stephanie yanked the keys from Chihiro's hands and shoved them into the keyhole. When the door clicked, she yanked it open and shoved Chihiro inside.

After that, Miss Stephanie disappeared. Chihiro had been pacing her bedroom floor for more than three hours, and still there was no sign of anything wrong, or right. She had pondered what the 'wrong' could possibly be. At first she thought Miss Stephanie was worried that Haku would hurt her. Chihiro had shoved that idea away even before she had finished it. Miss Stephanie knew about them, and their bond (even if that sounded really cheesy), and knew that he would never physically hurt her. Chihiro wasn't so sure about emotionally, though.

Then she came to the conclusion that the 'wrong' could be spirits. Not good ones, obviously. Bad ones, maybe having something to do with Shin. After all, why else would Miss Stephanie be worried about Shin in such a manner? It couldn't possibly be a gang member after Shin's life. That was far too melodramatic.

But then… How did Haku tie in? Sure, he was a river spirit himself, but he couldn't have kidnapped or harmed Shin, he couldn't even remember his own past!

A knock on the front door caused Chihiro to stop pacing. She glanced around her room nervously until her eyes rested on her alarm clock. Her parents were out on a date, and said they wouldn't be home until after ten. For being grounded, they sure were giving her a lot of wiggle room.

The clock read 9:30. Still too early… or maybe not? Maybe it was her parents out there. But… wouldn't they have a key? And surely she would have heard their car pull up…

Chihiro slowly approached her window. She raised a hand cautiously to pull back the blinds. From her second story window she could see the glow of blondish hair and a skateboard propped up against her house.

It was just Sean.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She exited her room and yelled, "Coming!" as she hopped down her stairs two at a time.

When she reached the door, she yanked it open. Sean looked down at her with raised eyebrows. "You continue to amaze me with the amount of noise you can create just by answering the door. Can I come in?"

Chihiro silently held the door open further for him, embarrassed by his comment, and his presence. She couldn't forget what had happened between him and Haku too easily. It never even crossed her mind that letting a boy into her parentless house might be a bad idea.

"Um, can I get you anything to drink?" Chihiro shut the door quietly behind them. Sean shook his head no. "Eat?" Another shake of the head. "Um, so… what did you need?" Chihiro asked nervously.

Sean was silent as her surveyed the inside of Chihiro's house. She became self-conscience of the amount of magazines strewn across their coffee table, and the bills and newspapers carelessly thrown onto their dining room table. "Um, do you want to go to my room?"

Sean raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. He just stood up and waited for her to lead the way. Chihiro gulped. She hadn't meant it in _that_ way, she just thought that she would much rather have him see the only clean part of the house than to sit around amongst the Sports Illustrated and National Geographics.

When they reached her room, Sean just glanced around idly. His eyes only stopped once, and that was on her dresser. She couldn't imagine why, she didn't have anything embarrassing such as a bra or pair of penguin underwear on display, just a few notebooks, pens, and her golden figurine. The one that she now remembered had belonged to Zeniba.

"So why did you come?" Chihiro asked Sean. He walked over to her bed and sat down. He patted the spot next to him. Chihiro hesitated, but sat down.

"Just to say hi. And to present you with a choice: Me, or the dragon."

Chihiro just sat there, trying to understand what he could possibly be talking about.

"What?" She asked, thinking that maybe he was talking about some crazy Zodiac reading. Sean took her hand in his. He looked down at her fingers and traced where her fingernails met her skin.

"It's very simple, really. Choose one of us. Haku, who doesn't care for you, or me, the one who has shown you the attention you deserve."

Then it dawned on her: he knew about Haku, and possibly a lot more. Chihiro yanked her hand away. "What do you think you're trying to do? Are you insane to think I'd choose? And what do you mean… dragon?" Chihiro whispered the last word. She couldn't process anything anymore. She couldn't understand how Sean could possibly know.

He chuckled under his breath. "Oh, don't play dumb, Chi. I know everything you do about Haku, if not more. Let's just say we have similar… friends."

Chihiro was starting to feel the hair on the nape of her neck begin to rise and tingle. There was something very strange about Sean at the moment. Had he always looked so… evil? His eyes lacked the glow that normal people usually had, and his skin seemed to be colorless in the light of her room. "Go," she croaked. "Go before I scream for the neighbors!"

"But Miss Stephanie's looking for her dear Shin, right? She won't hear you. And anyways, it's too late Chihiro," Sean said. He rose from the bed and let his skateboard clatter onto the floor. "You already let us all in."

Chihiro's eyes widened as she saw shapes starting to form all over her room. Black shadows crept up her walls and collected on her ceiling. Gunk was seeping through her wood floor and pooling around her feet and furniture. She frantically ran to her door, trying to open it and escape her living nightmare. She tripped and fell into the gunk. Sean crouched down next to her. He was holding her gold figurine.

"Mind if I take this for a while?" He paused, as if waiting for a response. Chihiro opened her mouth to speak, but soon found that her body was too heavy to do anything. She felt sluggish and lazy, and then slowly her eyelids began to droop. "Thought so," Sean finished. He stood up and left the room. The black shadows and other dark spirits closed in on her, until she could scarcely breathe.

Chihiro's world plunged into darkness.

* * *

Miss Stephanie gasped for air as she finally reached Haku's house. Normally the walk would have only taken 20 minutes, but for some reason in her distraught state, she had gotten lost for 45 minutes.

She rang the doorbell impatiently, not caring who she might disturb or annoy. Luckily, Haku answered the door. She grabbed him by the front of the shirt and dragged him outside.

"We have to go back."

Haku pulled back, but couldn't escape Miss Stephanie's grasp.

"I can't," he settled for this brusque remark after giving up.

"She has Shin. I know it. I was worried about why Shin had suddenly gone on a vacation without telling me or inviting me. I hadn't told anyone about his impromptu trip because I was worried about the rumors that would fly, but… now I'm starting to worry. He hasn't called, emailed, written, nothing. Don't you see, Haku? There's only one answer to this. Payback for what we did!"

Haku was silent after Miss Stephanie's desperate plea.

"Please Haku. If we don't get him back…"

"I'm not going back."

Miss Stephanie released the hold she had on his shirt. "What?" she whispered.

"I'm not going back. I've finally released myself from that hell and if I go back, she'll find me for sure. Everything I did to get out of there will be for nothing. And I can't throw what I have away. Not now."

Miss Stephanie frowned, and yelled back at him. "Don't act like the only one who had to suffer to get out of there. We were both in on it! I know the risk! But think Haku, if I don't get Shin back, he'll be killed. And there goes my happiness. How would you feel if she ripped Chihiro away from you? Or would you feel nothing?" Miss Stephanie spat out that last sentence. She started circling Haku and continued in disgust.

"Do you know how much pain and suffering you've caused her? Do you realize how much she loves you? Every little thing you do, she reacts to. Everything you say, she takes to heart. I'm sick of picking up after you Haku! You leave her shattered every time you reject her. You kill her-!"

"That's enough!" Haku bellowed.

Miss Stephanie stopped circling him, and stood very still. Haku was breathing heavily. "If I return, I may never be able to com back again. You suggest I'm the one who hurts Chihiro, but what about you? Only caring for yourself! If I never came back, how would Chihiro fare then? You're selfish, just like me."

"Haku, she already took Shin. If I stay here, I'll be alone."

Haku was silent. He seemed to be weighing his options very carefully. Then, he spoke.

"Would she take Chihiro back to the Spirit World?"

Miss Stephanie shook her head. "Chihiro earned her freedom. She can't be taken back by force, but if she were to go back voluntarily, then…"

Haku nodded. "I know," he looked back up at Miss Stephanie. "I won't be of as good a use as last time. I can't transform into a dragon anymore."

Miss Stephanie just smiled. "We'll see."

Haku frowned and turned around. He opened his door and yelled, "Mother, I'm going to spend the night at a friend's house, is that fine with you? I know it's a school night, but we have a really big project to do."

Miss Stephanie heard a faint reply. "Are you sure, honey? It's really last minute."

"Yes, it's fine," he started to close the door behind him, but quickly whispered out to Miss Stephanie, "Wait right there."

Five minutes later, Haku reappeared with a backpack strapped on. He shouted a last good bye to his mom, and then began to run down the street with Miss Stephanie. They were running side by side for a few minutes before Haku spoke.

"You promise she'll be safe from her?"

Miss Stephanie glanced over at Haku. "What could she possibly have that she would want? She's safe- just as long as she doesn't know what we're doing and comes to try and follow us."

Haku glared at her. "Are you trying to make me worry?"

Miss Stephanie shrugged. "Maybe just a little. It's not good to be so carefree in the world, you know."

* * *

Yubaba stared at the curtains concealing the empty room that once housed her baby. She moaned, and banged her hands on the desk in front of her. Her door groaned. She snapped her head up and looked at her door in earnest.

"Well, let him in!" she cried impatiently.

Yet again her door opened revealing a long corridor of closed doors. Suddenly they all flew open, and a boy was flung into her room.

"Well, Masao? Tell me the news."

Her response was just a smile from Masao. She smiled back at him.

"So I take it that you have both objects in your possession? Haku and the seal?"

Masao dug into his pocket and revealed the seal. It glinted in the faint glow of the room as he threw it to Yubaba. She caught eagerly and inspected it. Her long nose sniffed it noisily, and she brought it an inch from her left eye so she could see every nook and cranny the figurine had to offer.

Masao cleared his throat. She looked over at him indifferently. She nodded, telling him to go on.

"The actual seal isn't still on the figurine, but I can easily create another one for you if you wish," he said with all the civility in the world.

She grunted. "I'm perfectly capable. What about Haku? You said he was in your possession."

Masao stood emotionless for a moment. Finally he spoke again. "I never said he was with me now. He is at this moment racing towards this bath house with Lin in tow."

Yubaba's face hardened. "That ungrateful, filthy worker is actually coming with him? What could she possibly want?"

Masao didn't say anything.

"Oh, right, Shin. Or should I say, Rin? Yes, I forgot about him…"

She looked absolutely mad as she smiled in the soft glow of her lamps. The three green heads popped out of their usual hiding place, apparently just noticing there was a visitor. Masao glared at them with disgust, and turned away from them. Yubaba looked at them and flicked one of her fingers heavily laden with rings to make them roll back into their corner.

"You can leave now, Masao. I don't need your services anymore. You'll find no problem leaving, since you seem to remember your normal name."

Masao stood up straighter. "What about my parents? Aren't I going to get them back?"

Yubaba laughed. "I don't ever remember saying I was going to give them back. I just said I wasn't going to turn them into pigs if you did a few errands for me," she yawned and patted her bun lazily. "I suppose you can join them, if you want. They're locked up in the boiler room with that horrid spider. They might not even be alive still. Who knows? The soot down there can clog human lungs."

Masao's fists clenched, his teeth gritted against each other and his eyes narrowed dangerously. Yubaba eyed him with raised eyebrows.

"Of course, if you were to do one more thing for me, I might be able to release them. But it will only work if you go back to the Human world and be "Sean," your normal self, for one more day."

Masao relaxed slowly. "What do I have to do?"

Yubaba smiled. "Keep Chihiro occupied, she has an uncanny ability to slip away and ruin my plans."

Masao nodded and left the room, not bothering to mention that Chihiro was already pretty occupied at the moment.

* * *

Ohhhh... what could Haku and Lin have possibly done to anger yubaba so badly? you'll have to wait patiently... ha ha! anyways, reviews are always appreciated- its good to know whether or not you like my story. thank you! 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Haku and Lin

**Chapter 8: Haku and Lin**

Two years ago

Lin watched as Chihiro and Haku parted. All around her the workers of the bathhouse were celebrating Chihiro's success. She felt a smile on her face as well, with only a hint of envy and jealousy in her heart, and feeling a twinge of sadness to see Chihiro leaving. She wiped away a tear she hadn't realized was falling down her cheek. A worker bumped into her.

"Whoops! Sorry, Lin! Just so excited! Gives you hope, doesn't it? If she can get off this cursed island, maybe we can too," she straightened her hat and winked as she dissolved into the crowd of merrymakers behind her.

"Yes, it does…" Lin said belatedly. She gazed back at Haku, who now had a pained expression on his face. She glanced further down the plain of grass in front of them to see Chihiro walking steadily forward. What was it like, walking away from this place? she thought. To finally go home and continue the life you left?

She turned away sadly. I could never escape. I can't even remember my name. She glanced behind her once more, just to look she told herself, and saw resolve in Haku's eyes. She stopped walking and gazed at him more intently. Could he have remembered his name? Was he going to escape? Lin mashed her hands together nervously, trying to think. She didn't really _know _him that well… They had bumped into each other a few times in the halls of the bathhouse (he had shot her an icy glare, of course) but other than that, she knew nothing about him, except the fact that he was Yubaba's one loyal servant, and Chihiro's true love. She almost gagged at the sappiness of the latter, but stopped herself in time. She was bound to meet somebody like that in her future in the Human World.

That last thought gave her the resolve to walk up behind Haku. He turned around to look at her questioningly. She half smiled.

"You want off, right? Let's make a deal."

Present time

Chihiro regained consciousness hoping what she had experienced earlier that day with Sean was a dream. She opened her eyes slowly to find that she only gazed into dark nothingness. Thinking she was blind, she clawed at her eyes, only to find something stuck to them. She felt a gooey substance wrap around her fingers. She let out a small squeak that she soon came to regret, since more goo oozed into her throat. She hacked and coughed, trying desperately to get the stuff out of her, but didn't succeed in the least.

She heard a loud thump from downstairs, her parents getting home from their date. Hope soared through her as she thumped around on her hard floor. She could hear her mom humming a low tune from downstairs, and the loud clang of keys inside their candy bowl. Her dad made a low sigh, and Chihiro imagined him sinking into his recliner. She thrashed harder, reminding herself of a fish out of water. Her lack of breathing air only increased the likeness.

With each thrash and loud noise she made from her mouth, she got intertwined in the goo even further. It seeped into her nostrils, her ears, and down her throat once more. Her mother came up the stairs and Chihiro had one last surge of hope as she opened her bedroom door. She glanced around the room, and then walked further in. She looked and walked right past Chihiro, who was on the floor, suffocating.

"Chihiro?" She banged Chihiro's closet door open and sifted through the clothes, obviously looking to see if she was hiding behind them. "Chihiro, where are you?" Her voice was more cross now, and her footsteps got heavier than normal. She stepped right past Chihiro on her way out of the room. "I can't believe that child! She _knows_ she's grounded and not allowed out of the house, and yet she _still _disobeys me and leaves? Oh, wait until she gets home…"

The door clacked behind her.

Chihiro stopped moving, on the verge of tears. She hadn't realized until then that the goo around her face had gone, allowing her to breath and watch her mom not notice her. She let her head rest on the still oozing goo rising from her bedroom floor. It was hopeless. For some reason her mom couldn't see her, and Sean was keeping her captive. Tears began to fall across her face.

She felt a tap on her head and she looked up. A black shadow of a man looked at her. From the outline of his body, he looked like a businessman on his way to work. He had a hat, suit, and briefcase in tow. She squinted at him, and realized she had seen something like him before. When she had gone to Zeniba's place on the train. There were all sorts of spirits and shadows like him sitting and standing around her at the time.

In his black, shadowy depths, she saw someone looking out at her.

"Oh dear, you are in a pickle, aren't you? Just can't seem to keep yourself out of trouble," an old woman with very large eyes, nose, and bun told her from the man-shadow's belly. She snapped one of her ring-filled fingers and smiled. "Come and stand up Chihiro. Follow this shadow here and visit me. You'll have to do it quickly, mind. Don't want Sean or that dreadful Yubaba to find you."

Chihiro's body went back to normal so quickly, she wondered if she had actually ever been immobilized before. Shakily she stood up and glanced around her room. All the goo and darkness Sean had called upon were being squished back into her walls. She straightened the skirt she was wearing and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. She gazed unsurely at the man-shadow until he nodded and grabbed her hand. At that point, she was too busy trying not to scream as he raced with her in tow through the walls of her house and out the door to worry about where she was being taken.

Two years ago

"Lin?"

She smiled. Haku looked confused as he gazed up at her. He glanced back at Chihiro, who was just making it over a hill. She felt a pang of pity for him, but resolved not to let it show. "If you want to follow her out of here, you're going to need me."

Haku turned back to look at her. His eyebrows were raised. She felt irked that he seemed to think she was stupid, or silly. "Need you? Why would I need you? Do you even remember your name?"

Lin hesitated. "Uh, no. But I have things to offer you!"

Haku brushed past her and started walking to the bathhouse. "What could you possibly offer me? You don't even know your name."

Lin's face hardened. She stalked after him with her fists clenched and mind set on giving him a proper scolding. Who did he think he was, saying that to her!? Here she was, offering him help to getting off the island, and he just threw it right back into her face!

He was about to turn off into a large garden when Lin finally grabbed his arm. They were alone, so no one thought it strange that a worker and Yubaba's main servant were conversing.

"Haku, listen to me. You aren't exactly in the position where you can escape unnoticed. I could, possibly, since I'm just a lowly worker who Yubaba barely sees, but you are her main servant! She'd notice the second you walked out the door. And if she didn't, I'm sure one of the other workers would turn you in. I have friends among the workers, and could easily ask them to turn the other way. Why would you even think about dismissing the connections I have that could help you?"

"I don't need your connections, I'll find my own way," Haku hissed, jerking his arm away from her grasp.

Lin dropped her head to hide her embarrassment at being rebuffed. "No, Yubaba won't let you leave. You _do _need my help."

Haku was quiet as he stood listening to Lin. Lin felt the wind against her back and realized that soon she'd have to go back to her working duties. Finally Haku spoke.

"What do you want in return?"

Lin smiled, relieved that Haku was coming around. "Take me with you."

Present Time

Miss Stephanie's feet were starting to hurt. She and Haku had been running all through the afternoon and halfway through the night. She didn't dare mention this to Haku, however, who was running along side her. She snuck a glance beside her and saw Haku easily gliding next to her. Even in his human form he moved like a dragon, she thought.

She sighed heavily. Her feet were going to fall off if they didn't stop for at least ten seconds.

"Haku?" He turned and glanced at her. His expression was serious: his eyes were narrowed, face pale, and mouth pressed into a thin line. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at her. Miss Stephanie almost tripped on a rock because of the intensity of his gaze.

"What?" He said coldly.

Miss Stephanie looked away and sighed. "Never mind."

They continued to run.

Chihiro's eyes were as dry as sandpaper as she glanced around at the world. The man-shadow had been dragging her through her neighborhood and then some for a few hours. She was soon regretting wearing a skirt that morning, but seeing as it was part of her school uniform, there wasn't much she could have worn instead.

She knew she could close her eyes, but then she'd miss where they were going. And the brilliant colors! As the sun was going down, the light against the rooftops and pools was mind boggling. Just as she was really starting to enjoy herself, the man-shadow dipped down, diving to the earth's surface. Chihiro's eyes finally shut as she screamed.

After ten seconds, Chihiro opened her eyes wondering why she wasn't human putty. It was dark around her, like someone had sucked the sun right out of the sky. Suddenly, the man-shadow dragged her to a stop and started to climb. They were going faster and faster and faster and faster until POP! They were free.

The man-shadow seemed to deflate when they reached the light of the setting sun, and with that motion, Chihiro landed softly on the ground. In the slowly descending light of the sun, she could just make out a moving lamppost. It jumped towards her excitedly. She felt something click in her mind as she remembered where she had seen it before.

"I'm going to Zeniba's," she whispered.

"Yes, you are. Now follow Lamp there, and don't dilly-dally! We have some very important matters to discuss," the man-shadow's pool of darkness displayed Zeniba's large face on the ground. Chihiro nodded, and ran after Lamp.

Two years ago

"We'll have to make this quick. I had to lie to all my coworkers about where I was going. Currently, I have a very bad stomachache and am barfing in the toilet. What about you?"

"Was that a serious question?" Haku asked, piercing her with his no-nonsense eyes. She decided to let it go.

"Right, so here's the deal: You take me with you, and I'll use my connections to get us out of here. Got it?" Lin asked Haku, straightening her worker's uniform. They were positioned in the Boiling Room, and only the Spider-like man could hear their conversation. Next to their feet, the little soot balls were dancing around transporting small chunks of coal. They hopped easily with the large weight on their bodies, like ants.

"Yes, I got it," Haku stonily stated. Any compassion he had gained from Chihiro visiting seemed to have slipped away with her. He was back to his old, peeved self.

"Now, I was thinking we could just create a distraction or just leave when she's preoccupied. Yubaba can't possibly ALWAYS be on high alert, right?"

Haku was watching the soot balls as he replied. "She always is and when she's not, she has others to keep an eye out for her. She has spies and control over every single person; she has every person's real name. Without you name, you're staying here, whether you like it or not. There's no way around it."

For a while the only noise was the pips and squeaks of the soot balls, and the whirring of all the equipment the Boiler Man was moving as Lin tried to keep herself from exploding in Haku's face.

"But, you leave all the time! You do all her dirty errands and leave the bathhouse for days on end. You can't expect me to believe this whole name crap if you can leave whenever you want."

Haku's head snapped up and his eyes burned holes into Lin's face. "Do you actually think it's so easy? How could you be so ignorant? If I didn't have to come back from those disgusting tasks, do you think I would?!"

"Ah, Lin. Don't get ahead of yourself," a voice came from behind them. Haku and Lin turned slightly to face the Boiler Man. His many legs continued to control the machinery as he swiveled his body around to look at them. "Haku is correct. You can't leave without your name."

"But!" Lin interrupted.

"There are no buts. Those train tickets I gave to Chihiro had been sitting in my drawer for years, unused because I can't remember who I am. But I knew she could use them since she knew her name. Unfortunately, I gave her all my tickets…"

"Great," Lin remarked, throwing her arms up in the air. "Now what?"

Haku carefully stepped around the frenzied soot balls and stepped up onto the platform. "You will not get in the way of my escape. With or without you, I'm going to take my freedom."

"But Haku, we had a deal!"

"Do you not understand? You do not know your name, you cannot leave. I know my name, so I'm going to leave. Any questions?"

"But that can't just be the end of this! I know I can do something. I can-," Lin stopped in mid sentence and smiled. She hopped up next to Haku and gazed mischievously down at him. "When's the next time Yubaba leaves?"

Haku raised an eyebrow, but answered. "She's gone now, but she'll be back in about two hours."

Lin nodded, and started walking. She grabbed Haku's shirtsleeve and dragged him along, and shouted over his protests, "Here's what we'll do…"

Present Time

Chihiro gazed at the small house that she thought she'd never see again. She closed her eyes and tried not to be too nervous. Zeniba was nice, but Chihiro was still anxious to meet her. Lamp shoved her from behind until she was an inch away from the door. She knocked automatically, and rushed in when the door creaked open. She was met with the spitting image of Yubaba, although she would never mention that to Zeniba.

"Hello, Chihiro. Glad you could make the journey," Zeniba smiled widely so that her eyes were just slits. Chihiro smiled back cautiously. Zeniba noticed her uneasiness. "Are you scared of me? I'm the good one, right? Oh, it doesn't matter. Sit. I have a lot to tell you concerning Haku and Lin. Or Miss Stephanie. Whatever she calls herself these days."

With the mention of Haku and Miss Stephanie's names, Chihiro plopped down in the nearest chair and forgot all her uneasiness. "What? What's wrong? Do you know why Miss Stephanie ran off like that?"

Zeniba nodded and sat down next to Chihiro. She took Chihiro's hands in hers and talked softly. "Yubaba isn't happy with you, Chihiro. Since you escaped her claws, she's been very angry. And I know it was foolish of me to give you the gold figurine, but what happened happened, and there's nothing we can do about it. Because of you, Haku and Lin were able to escape the Bath House, and what an ordeal that was, let me tell you. Caused Yubaba a real drop in profit. So she's angry with you, Haku, and Lin. She wants you to pay for what's happened to her, and she wants Haku back. I guess Lin, too, since she took Rin. Shin. Whatever."

"But wait," Chihiro shook her head. "What about the figurine you gave me? Why'd she want it back so badly?"

Zeniba blinked. "Guess she just really likes it. You know her and her obsession with gold. But what I'm trying to say is, you've got yourself caught in a very tangled web. You, Haku, Lin, Rin. And even Masao."

"Masao? Who's Masao?"

Zeniba stared blankly at Chihiro. "Sean. Whatever. Him. He's in a similar situation as you. Or rather, what you were in. Yubaba has his parents held hostage, as pigs, naturally. That's how she has him do her bidding. But he's a strange one. He has a bizarre relationship with you, doesn't he?"

"I guess," Chihiro replied. She already knew most of the things Zeniba was explaining to her, but one thing was still unanswered. "But Zeniba. I still don't know why all this stuff is happening. I know I'm partly to blame, you made that clear, but why is Yubaba so angry at Haku and Miss Stephanie? And where did Sean come from, and why did he do all this stuff to me?"

Zeniba sighed and stood up. " I wish No-Face hadn't run off…"

Chihiro looked around and noticed that No-Face was in fact gone. She wondered how she hadn't noticed that right off.

"I already told you why Masao, Sean, whatever, did what he did, he's Yubaba's new assistant. Haku and Lin though, they completely demolished the Bath House. They caused so much damage, that Yubaba had to close down for two years. I imagine she's a tad bit peeved about that, and them running off."

"What?" Chihiro asked incredulously.

Zeniba looked at Chihiro and sighed. She sat back down. "I guess I'll have to tell you what happened."


End file.
